'Although I don’t really understand why we’re being so skeptical,' I said when I stopped to sit on a fallen log. Audrey sat between my knees and I fussed over her, it’d been strange to spend the entire day without her, though Gredel said she’d enjoyed the flight. 'I mean, we cast the spell to meet our soul mates and it whisks us away to a far away land, and NOW we question whether this is real?' I shrugged. 'Really, we should be delighted it worked out so well.'
They still looked dubious. 'I don’t know.' Kassie said hesitantly, 'it just seems too easy.'
Too easy?!? The last few days had felt anything but easy, I thought while giving Kassie an arched look. She flushed and gave a defensive shrug, swiping her curls out of her eyes.
'SIAN, WHAT DO you think? You’re the expert in this field,' Loi turned to Sian.
Sian looked a bit overwhelmed. 'Well,' she hedged. 'I really don’t know. IF it was the spell that brought us here then it would make sense that these are the guys. But then, no spell I’ve ever cast before has done this. What if this Elena person brought us here, what then?'
'Any suggestions as to how we handle this?' Loi attempted nonchalance, but her voice sounded tight even to her. While she didn’t really want to admit it to the girls, she’d fallen for Sabyn rather hard.
THEY SAT IN silence for a few moments then Kassie spoke up. 'I think we should just take it slow. And remember we don’t know the etiquette around here, so until we understand it all, let’s not get ourselves betrothed or something without realizing it.'
The others stared at her for a moment.
'I hadn’t even thought of that.' Cat looked a little wild-eyed.
'Yes, good point,' Sian agreed. 'Gonna take it nice and slow now.'
FOR THE NEXT quarter hour or so we diligently collected firewood, not conversing. My mind felt like a mess while I made a vague attempt at thinking through what had happened, but had to give up, the thoughts only making me anxious.
We pushed through the bush back to the campsite to find the tent now set up and the men looking over their griffons. They glanced up when they heard us and Alek’s blue stare had me chanting 'nice and slow' in my head over and over while we piled the wood beside the fireplace.
Gredel, Rumal and Sabyn cooked a fantastic evening meal and the griffons disappeared for a couple of hours while they hunted their own dinner. After another game of cards, where upon I lost appallingly again, we girls decided to call it a night and headed for the tent. We’d managed to keep the evening just friendly and fun, which relieved me. I settled into bed feeling oddly content. Audi slept safe and sound under my bed, my friends were with me and while no one knew what tomorrow would bring, at least it wasn’t the mundane everyday life we had on Earth. No office administration job for me here!
The next day we awoke to brilliant sunshine. Birds sung their hearts out while I got dressed and it surprised me to realize I looked forward to today’s flight. I hummed as I folded up my cot bed.
LOI SMILED WHEN she heard Cat hum "Just A Yellow Lemon Tree". It grew lighter and warmer inside the tent as the sun rose, making it lovely to step outside into the still crisp air of the early morning. She’d always loved camping as a kid and this made her feel rather nostalgic. Walking over to the fireplace, she found Alek and Gredel deep in conversation about the day’s plan. They looked up when they heard her approach and smiled.
'Good morning,' Gredel said. 'Are you looking forward to another day of flying?'
Loi beamed at him. 'I am. I really enjoyed yesterday, will we stop at any villages on the way?'
'Yes. We’ll stop at a village in Bresdon for tonight. The Inn there has accommodation for griffons and it’s owned by my wife’s brother.'
'What’s the village called?'
'Lilliton,' said Alek. 'It’ll be good to catch up with Brece and his family.'
Gredel looked past them both so they turned. Sabyn walked toward them with a string of fresh fish looped over his shoulder.
'I thought we’d have some fresh fish for breakfast.'
'Did you catch all of those this morning?' Loi asked, impressed.
'Yes. Do you like fish?'
The bright look of delight in his eyes had her nodding enthusiastically while thinking—as long as it’s battered and from the fish and chip shop. The men set to scaling and gutting the fish, then seasoned them and threw them on the hot pans. It did smell good and the scent brought the other girls in quick. Sian, Kassie and Cat had clean damp faces after visiting the creek and Audi dripped with water. Sabyn moved slowly while he served the fish, because he had an ecstatic Lucky purring her way around his ankles begging for some. Loi laughed and scooped the cat up, holding her tight until he’d finished. The leftovers were divided between the cat and dog.
After clearing and cleaning the campsite, and packing the gear onto the griffons, it was time to go. Sabyn bent down to give Loi a leg up onto Tomiar but she hesitated. 'Can you show me how you do it? I’d like to learn.'
He looked surprised. 'Sure.'
She stepped back to watch while he and Tomiar performed their long perfected move.
Tomiar kept her foreleg bent and Sabyn made a short run up then leaped and pushed himself off Tomiar’s knee, grabbing a good handful of mane and swung himself up. The entire move took about four seconds.
'W-O-W.'
Sabyn looked down at her. 'Give it a shot,' he urged. 'I’ll grab your other hand.'
'I won’t hurt Tomiar?' She asked in concern; she liked Tomiar after all.
He laughed and Tomiar snorted. 'She says if she can handle me, you’ll be fine.' He winked, making her feel a little foolish.
'Ok,' she mumbled, taking a couple of steps back. 'Here goes nothing.' Remembering at the last second which foot to push off with, Loi kicked off Tomiar—mentally apologizing—and stretched up, snatching a handful of mane. At the same time Sabyn grabbed her other arm with both hands and pulled her up to the front seat. Loi blinked at the sudden change of view then laughed in surprise. 'I did it!'
The others had watched and all applauded, Cat and Sian whistled loudly to the surprise of Alek and Daron.
'Well done,' Sabyn spoke into her ear. 'And I’ll bet in no time you’ll be able to do it by yourself.'
Chapter Twelve
SABYN AND LOI talked the whole flight, leaning backward or forward to speak in the others ear. He told her all about his family, she learned he had two younger sisters who commandeered much of their parents’ time. The twins, Lenia and Franti, were just sixteen and at that boy-crazy stage.
'It made the last visit we had at my family’s home embarrassing,' Sabyn shook his head at the memory.
Loi laughed at the thought of the teenagers trying out their charms on the boys. 'I’ll bet that doesn’t go down well with Gredel,' she spoke in Sabyn’s ear.
He roared with laughter.
‘WHAT? WHAT’D SHE say?’ demanded Tomiar.
He relayed Laura’s words to her. Tomiar chuckled and sent him an image of the last time Gredel had visited—it showed the large man pasty white while the two girls closed in on him, their eyelashes fluttering and hands clasped demurely in front. Gredel had told Sabyn afterward, in no uncertain terms, that he would never again visit without Citaan.
AUDREY SEEMED TO love the view. She’d managed to twist herself up so she could stand and stretch to see past Phroma’s wings. Gredel grunted in pain.
'Audrey, you’re standing on my bladder again.' He shifted her slightly. She twisted back to give him a big sloppy kiss, then shifted back to her original position.
‘Ganooks.’ Gredel exclaimed to Phroma. ‘This dog is driving me nuts, she won’t stop squirming and standing on me.’
‘At least she’s enjoying herself,’ replied Phroma. ‘Just think of how bad it’d be if she didn’t and she probably needs to go for a good run.’
‘True, I think I’ll suggest it to Catherine.’
‘Cat,’ corrected Phroma.
‘Eh?’ Gredel thought in confusion, ‘No, Cath
erine, the woman.’
Phroma snorted in amusement, ‘No silly, Catherine’s name is Cat for short, Kassandra is Kassie and Laura is Loi. It’s what they call each other all the time.’
Gredel huffed, ‘Well I didn’t know.’
‘Now you do. Yes, it’d be a good idea for Audi to go for a run, the energy she’s throwing off is distracting.’
‘Can I do anything to help?’
‘Maybe try stroking her and talking to her, it might calm her down a bit,’ suggested Phroma.
Feeling a bit self-conscious, even if only Phroma could hear him, Gredel began to pet the dog and chat to her.
OVER ON TOMIAR, Sabyn showed Loi how to stand on the saddle. She felt rather pleased with herself; she’d managed to gloss over most of her home life details. Instead she'd told him all about jujitsu. It had fascinated him and he only promised to show her a saddle trick if she promised to show him a couple of throws.
Now she crouched on the saddle, clutching the front pommel tight with both hands while seriously wondering if she’d overreached herself.
'Loi,' Sabyn shouted into the wind. 'Strap this around your waist.'
He held a heavy leather circlet. She slipped back into the saddle and he reached forward to help strap her in.
'This has a length on either side which ties to the saddle. With this and me behind you, you’ll be fine.'
With the circlet fastened tight, Loi pulled both legs up again and crouched low over the pommel. Two large hands gripped her hips and Sabyn leaned forward. 'Ready?' he yelled.
'Yeah!'
'Okay stand.'
Bracing both legs, she slowly let go of the pommel and pushed her head into the wind then straightened up. Sabyn kept a firm grip on her hips while Loi caught her balance then spread both feet a little wider and seized the front strap from the saddle.
What a rush!
The wind roared past her ears so she couldn’t hear anything and she had to squint to see—but the view—rolling hills stretched out below them with distant rivers glinting in the sun and dark stretches of forest. So much green and blue. Loi started to laugh. The sensation of the wind and only her feet touching the saddle made it feel like she herself flew. Suddenly she understood why Sabyn had such a passion for this. It was magical.
From this view point she could see the other griffons and watched them, spell bound. Even in flight they had the grace of large cats and flew with such ease. Loi caught sight of Sian gaping at her and couldn’t resist waving. She giggled while Sian watched with an expression of pure envy. Showing off wasn’t nice, but she and Sian always competed against each other. A little competition is healthy, Loi thought as she gave another wave.
TOMIAR COCKED HER head to look back at Laura. ‘She’s having so much fun. And the first of the bunch to do it,’ she thought smugly.
‘Yes, though I bet Sian will be next,’ he sent an image of Sian watching Loi to Tomiar.
‘It’s good for them to learn. They’ll need to be confident with flying for some of the things coming.’
Sabyn paused, waiting to see if the griffon said any more. Tomiar often showed a gift for seeing events that had yet to pass. It wasn’t unusual for griffons or dragons for that matter, and Elena had thought it might have something to do with their ability to leap. When Tomiar didn’t elaborate he let it go. She would tell him if she knew for sure, but when she only caught glimpses she didn’t usually bother.
‘GREDEL, LOOK.’ PHROMA thought excitedly.
Gredel looked across and spotted Loi standing on Tomiar, a huge grin on her face. ‘You wait, she’ll be free-falling in no time.’
Audrey spotted Loi and turned to bark at her, but the wind whipped the sound away so Loi and the others didn’t even notice. The dog grumbled and slouched back against Gredel who smiled down at the put-out creature. He ruffled her fur and talked nonsense to her until her tail started to wag.
‘I can’t wait to tell Citaan about the baby talk,’ Phroma teased.
‘I’m just practicing,’ Gredel thought, refusing to rise to the bait. ‘And you never know, Citaan might have a surprise for us when we get home.’
The suggestion thrilled Phroma. Citaan had lost a baby nearly a year ago and she often spoke to Phroma about her longing for another. Phroma knew the lovely blue haired woman didn’t mention it to Gredel because she didn’t want to upset him. He’d taken the miscarriage rather hard. If the griffon calculated correctly, then the fourth month mark would be soon.
It’s sure to be a healthy babe this time round, Phroma thought assertively, reassuring herself. Though it isn’t surprising Citaan hasn’t said a word yet, better to wait until the babe grew some more. Phroma felt a glow of warmth at the thought of a child for her friends. It made her think of her own pup, safe in the castle nursery.
‘You must be missing little Ageip,’ thought Gredel. He loved the little pup. Ageip looked the spitting image of his mother, right down to the black wings with violet undertones.
‘I am,’ Phroma sighed. ‘But it’s nice to be out. We haven’t been for such a big trip in a long time.’
LOI DECIDED SHE’D had enough of standing and with Sabyn gripping her hips again she lowered herself to the saddle.
'How are you?' Sabyn spoke into her ear.
'Shaking,' Loi said in surprise. 'It’s a lot harder than I expected.' Her legs trembled as though she’d done hours of training.
He laughed softly. 'You were up longer than I managed my first time. Shows how strong you are.' He wrapped both arms around her.
Loi felt flattered and relaxed back against him with a smile. 'Thanks.'
I COULD JUST see the village in the space between Loushka’s wing and neck. It didn’t have a fence like Lothost had. I leaned back against Alek’s chest and he obligingly ducked his head so I could speak into his ear. 'Why isn’t it fenced? Lothost was.'
'They have a large number of dogs here,' Alek said. 'Audi will be popular. They also regularly host griffons and their riders. That’ll scare off most of the carnivores.'
That idea intrigued me and I asked, 'How many griffon riders are there? And what makes the five of you so special?'
I felt his chuckle through the breastplate. 'You don’t think I’m special?' he teased.
'I didn’t mean that.'
'There are around eighteen griffon riders at one given time. The five of us were selected by Elena and trained by the late King. The other griffon riders are normal creatures who have connected with a griffon in the same way some connect with dragons. They’re in high demand as messengers and guards and in times of war they join forces with us and the General Guard at the Castle.'
'Do all griffons and dragons link with a human?'
'No. Out of say, several hundred creatures, one may link with another being.'
I thought about it for a moment. 'What do the normal creatures think of those who have linked?'
He smiled against my ear; it sent shivers down my spine. 'It’s seen as an honor.'
Loushka made a loud whistle and Alek fell silent for a moment while they spoke.
'RIGHT. WE’RE GOING to land, so hold on.' He wrapped his arms around Catherine and this time she locked hers over his. Loushka made a slight sweep upward to align correctly then dropped.
A CROWD WAITED to greet them and the girls kept themselves slightly behind the guys. Audi pressed herself against Cat’s leg while they waited for their introductions. Kassie watched as Rumal called out to someone. A couple pushed through the crowd with huge smiles on their faces while they greeted the men and the griffons.
THEY INTRODUCED US to absolutely everyone in the crowd and all the names went straight over my head; as long as I remember our hosts’ names I’ll be okay—Brece and Melanite. I kept smiling until my jaw hurt. They were all friendly and accommodating, but I began to feel claustrophobic. Sian bumped into me and I turned to look at her.
'Want out,' she whispered.
'Me too.'
'Me three,' said Kassie softly
behind us.
I turned to see Loi bob her head in agreement. I looked around and managed to catch Melanite’s eye. 'Could we see our rooms?' I asked. 'We’d like to change.'
'Oh I'm sorry, I should have thought. C'mon this way,' Melanite said with an apologetic smile.
Waving to the guys, we hurried after her. The Inn opened up into an enormous space. Made fully of logs, the ceilings seemed excessively high compared to the other buildings I’d glimpsed when we landed.
'So the griffons can join their riders if they like,' Melanite explained. She led us into a large and airy room, its shuttered windows wide open. 'Will you need anything else?'
'Yes,' I said. 'I’m not sure if you’ll be able to help, but I’d like to go for a run with my dog and I was hoping for maybe some ankle boots as these,' I indicated my thigh high boots. 'Aren’t ideal.'
'No they’re certainly not,' she agreed. 'I’ll find some and bring them to you shortly.'
IN THE COMMON area of the lodge the men caught up with Brece and several of the town’s committee members. While Alek listened to the conversation he noticed Melanite hover near Brece, who turned and conversed with her.
Brece turned to Alek. 'One of the women in your group wishes to take her dog for a run, will you accompany her? We’ve had sightings of tehnears lately, so I wouldn’t want her to risk it by herself,' he paused. 'You do still run?'
'I do, I'll go get changed. Elena will have my head if anything happens to any of them.' Alek pushed his chair back and stood, working at the buckles on his arm greaves as he walked to his room.
The Arrival Page 14